Coffee with Kel

Building relationships, encouraging hope

Kids

Chicken Pot Pie

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Macey, our oldest, helped me cook dinner last night. She’s been wanting to cook more, so earlier this week she got out her Paula Deen’s My First Cookbook and found a recipe she wanted to try for us. She decided to make Chicken Pot Pie and made me a shopping list so I would know what all to buy. How cute is that?! No resisting that one. We changed up the recipe a little bit and I’ll make notations as to what we did differently. But, here is the recipe in case anyone else would like to get in the kitchen and whip up this yummy meal with your own children.

Chicken Pot Pie
From Paula Deen’s My First Cookbook 

What you’ll need:

  • Medium pot
  • Tongs
  • Cutting Board
  • Medium Sharp Knife
  • Liquid measuring cup
  • Measuring spoons
  • Small pot
  • Dry measuring cup (1/4 cup)
  • Whisk
  • 9-inch glass pie plate
  • Oven mitts or hot pad
  • Scoop for serving
  • 2 chicken breasts with skin and bone (we used thin sliced boneless breasts – about four of them.  We also used 1 cup reduced sodium chicken broth.)
  • 2-3 cups of water
  • 4 Tablespoons butter
  • 1/4 cup flour
  • 1 cup whole milk  (we used 2% organic milk)
  • 1 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper
  • Two 9-inch refrigerated foldable pie crusts
  • 2 15-oz cans mixed vegetables (We used one small can mixed vegetables, one regular can diced new potatoes and half a can of diced asparagus)

What You’ll Do:

  1. Turn the oven on to 375 degrees.
  2. Make sure your adult helper is nearby. Put the chicken and enough water just to cover it in the medium post. Put the pot on the stove-top and turn on the heat to medium-high. When the water comes to a boil, cook for 25 minutes. Turn off the heat and let chicken cool for one hour. (NOTE: We used boneless, skinless, thin-sliced chicken breasts and boiled until done. We used a reduced sodium chicken broth in place of the broth that the original recipe called for.)
  3. Using tongs, take chicken out of the pot and put it on the cutting board. Pull the meat from the bones and chop it into medium-size pieces. Throw away the skin, bones and fat. Save one cup of the broth to make your sauce. (See note above)
  4. Put the butter in the small pot over medium heat. When the butter is melted, add the flour and whisk it with the whisk until it is smooth. Slowly pour in the chicken stock and whisk until the sauce is thick. Add the milk and whisk until the sauce is bubbling. Whisk in salt and pepper. Turn off the heat.
  5. To assemble the pie: Unfold one of the pie crusts and press it into the bottom and sides of the pie plate. Spread the chicken over the bottom of the crust. Drain the vegetables (you can pour the water through your fingers into the sink). Spread the vegetables on top of the chicken. Pour the sauce over the chicken and vegetables.
  6. Place the top crust over the chicken. Trim the edge if it is too long. Pinch the edges of the crust together. Take a knife and make three slits in the crust.
  7. Bake the pie for 40 minutes, until the crust is brown and the filling is bubbling. Use oven mitts or hot pads to take it out of the oven. (You might have to ask your adult helper to do that for you.) Let the pie cool for 10 minutes before you take a big scoop.

Serves 6 to 8

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This recipe is not only easy and tasty, but also lends itself to creativity. You can use a variety of vegetables for the filling. You could also substitute turkey instead of chicken. The varieties are plentiful with this one.

I have to give this recipe high marks because not only was it easy for Macey and me to make together, but it was also delicious!! Mickey is a big fan of chicken pot pie and he absolutely raved over it too. Okay, part of it was because Macey cooked it, but it really was THAT good. Macey and I served this pot pie with a very simple side salad (lettuce, tomato and almond slivers) and it was a fantastic meal for our family. I took this picture of the finished pie with my phone, so that photo quality isn’t the greatest – sorry.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As you can see, it turned out great and tasted even better. I love getting in the kitchen with my girls. This is a great way for them to learn and for us to build great memories. Sometimes I’ve been guilty of saying “oh, just let me do it…”, but, really, it’s so awesome to help them learn and watch their pride when it all comes together. That’s worth taking a little extra time for, if you ask me.

Kelly

Impromptu Family Adventures

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The girls have this week out of school and we haven’t yet had much of a chance to have any family adventures during this break. So, on Sunday Mickey and I cooked up a plan to change all that. We decided to take a day trip up to Chattanooga, TN and visit their kids’ museum and aquarium. I am SO thankful that we came up with that plan because we all had such a GREAT time!

Chattanooga is a really fun place to visit. We went a couple of summers ago and have been wanting to go back for awhile now. We really didn’t want to be gone long, so a day trip was the perfect family get-away. We left on Monday morning and arrived in Chattanooga in time to have lunch at Big River Grille &  Brewing Works. It’s been awhile since we’ve been to Big River (the last time we went, Macey was less than two) and it was just as good as we remembered. After lunch, we made our way to Creative Discovery Museum. This is one awesome children’s museum, y’all! We were there for about two hours and never once did the girls get bored. We didn’t even get to everything, to be honest, but the girls had a blast with the things we did. (We didn’t miss much – I think just the outdoor play area and it was COLD, so that was okay.) I would highly recommend this museum to families. I have heard great things and it lived up to every bit of the hype. Well worth the trip just for the museum.  After we played at the museum, we hit up Chili’s for some quick desserts and then checked into our hotel. I had booked online through Hotwire and gotten us a room at the beautiful Sheraton Reed House. We stayed there the last time we went and really enjoyed it, so it was nice to go back. The only bummer for the girls was that I didn’t pack swimsuits, so they missed out on the great indoor/heated pool there. The hotel is right downtown and is convenient to great attractions, so it’s a fantastic place to stay in Chattanooga. Once we checked in and freshened up, we were ready to set off on another adventure. Chattanooga has a free electric shuttle bus system called CARTA that runs downtown and we took the shuttle bus down to the Tennessee Aquarium. The Tennessee Aquarium is always a lot of fun. We all enjoyed it. I can safely say that the girls’ favorite exhibits were the butterfly garden, the penguins and the octopus. We also loved seeing the sharks! The whole aquarium experience was a lot of fun! We had dinner at Mellow Mushroom after the aquarium and then headed back to our hotel where we watched Rio and had some good chill time together. It was a great little day trip full of adventures for our family!

If you’re looking for a great family vacation spot, consider Chattanooga. There is so much there for families to see and do together. We only hit two of the highlights, but there are MANY more nearby attractions such as Coolidge Park, Lookout Mountain/The Incline Railroad, Ruby Falls, Rock City and more! If you stay downtown, think about catching the CARTA shuttle buses when possible because they are free and energy efficient. It’s an easy way to get around downtown Chattanooga. There are great places to eat in Chattanooga too. It’s really a fun place to hang out and have fun as a family.

I hope everyone’s week and year (wink) are off to a great start!
Kelly

 

The Truth About Santa…

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First of all…SURPRISE! I’m actually updating my blog. No one faint, okay? 😉 We are several days past Christmas now and I’m finally sitting down to write a post that’s been on my brain for several weeks, actually.

(This photo was taken at our church’s Home For the Holidays celebration in December.)

Over the summer our oldest daughter, Macey, learned the truth about Santa Claus. The way this came about was that little miss detective figured out the Tooth Fairy deal and then that lead to a conversation that involved everyone’s favorite jolly ole elf.  You see, in our house, the Tooth Fairy leaves glitter quarters. I got this idea from a friend several years ago and loved it. You simply paint quarters with glitter nail polish and leave them from the Tooth Fairy. Easy and cute, right? This worked like a charm for the first several teeth Macey lost. She got her glitter quarters and some cash. Win/win and fun. Last summer, Macey had to have a tooth pulled at the dentist. So, out came the glitter quarters that evening. Only, I left the glitter nail polish out on my vanity. Didn’t occur to me that Nancy Drew was in the house. The next day, Macey saw the glitter nail polish out and noticed that it was the same color as her glitter quarters from the TF. When she asked me about it, I will admit, I tried to dodge the question at first, but when it was clear that she wanted a real answer, I told the truth. Instead of redirecting her with questions such as “Well, what do YOU think?” I was up front and honest with her. I told her that the Tooth Fairy isn’t real, but it’s something fun for parents to do for their kids to celebrate losing teeth. She was perfectly fine with that. No tears, no drama – just an understanding. I couldn’t have asked for a better revealing.

Once that conversation started, my wheels started turning and I really wanted to address Santa. I have long wrestled with the Santa dilemma. (See my post from November 2008.) I conferred with Mickey and we decided that the time was right to talk to Macey about SC. So, once we talked about the TF and she was obviously more than fine with that, I segued into the Santa conversation. I asked her if she had any other questions about real vs fun/fantasy and, sure enough, HoHo came into question. So, again, I was just honest. I told her that Santa Claus aka Saint Nicholas was a wonderful legend that had been told and enacted for many years. I told her it’s about giving and how the legend showed that Saint Nicholas was always happier to give than to receive. I emphasized how much fun it is for kids AND for their families. And, once again, she was perfectly fine with it. No drama whatsoever. What a relief!! In fact, she was happy to know the truth. She and I talked about what is real (God) vs fantasy (Santa) and she had a very clear understanding about all of  it. She was also happy to keep the magic alive for her sister and be in on “the secret” with us.

I know some people think that innocence is somehow lost when children no longer believe in Santa, but I’m here to say that isn’t the case. Macey enjoyed a wonderfully “magical” Christmas this year. Not one ounce of joy was diminished for her. In our home, we emphasize the birth of Jesus as the main celebration of Christmas, but we also include secular traditions like Santa, of course, and Elf on the Shelf. This year, Macey helped Mariana (our youngest) write her Santa letter. Once the letter was done, Macey took it to the mailbox to mail and sneaked it back into the house so we’d know what was on the list. When our elf  “arrived”, Macey was there cheering about it and getting her sister all excited about it too. Macey then went to a laptop and printed out a letter from the elf and got excited when it magically appeared on the printer. She never once let on anything to her sister. She loved being in on it  all. So, there was no loss of innocence or fun. It’s simply a new phase in her life and one that she fully embraces with happiness.

We aren’t yet sure when we’ll tell Mariana about SC, but I’m sure the truth will reveal itself in the right time, just like it did with Macey. I always had a fear in the back of my mind that finding out the truth about Santa would cause Macey to have doubts about God, somehow, but that has not been the case. I can’t take any credit for that, but I’m hopeful that our keeping Christ at the center of Christmas was what helped her when she found out about SC. I worry less about Mariana finding out now since her sister has done so well with it all. After all, we are teaching our girls the truth of the Lord and that’s the main thing. We always said that when they came to us for the truth, we’d tell it and that’s what we did. I don’t mind redirecting their questions back to them at a young age, but when they are old enough to know, then it’s time to cease the redirects and come out with the truth. We always want our girls to know that we’ll tell them the truth, even if it’s not always what they want to hear.

I just had to share this story because I know that other people out there have children that are “of age” to find out about Santa too. And, you might have the same or similar worries as I did. My advice would simply be to tell the truth. The legend of Santa Claus is a fun one, so we enjoy including that in our Christmas. But, Jesus’ birth is first and foremost what we believe and celebrate. I’m so thankful that our big girl took the SC news as awesomely as she did and also thankful to know that she realizes and believes that Jesus really IS the reason we celebrate Christmas.

Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas. I look forward to blogging more in the new year. 🙂

Kelly

Five

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Our baby girl, Mariana, turned five yesterday.  It’s surreal, really, because it seems in many ways like she was just born and in other ways it seems like we’ve been a family of four forever. Five is such a cool age. It’s that “no longer a baby, but still a little kid” age. She’s still very much in that stage where she thinks her mommy and daddy are cool and loves to give us plenty of hugs and kisses. Meanwhile, she’s independent enough to play in the backyard with her sister and is quite skilled at entertaining herself. Mariana will start kindergarten in August and, let me just say, that is something that she is pretty thrilled about already. She is bummed that she can’t start NOW, actually.

Mariana is a giggle girl. She loves to laugh and play. She has an imagination as big as the sky. She loves to pretend to teach a class which mainly consists of stuffed animals. She’s a fantastic little mommy to her dolls. She makes up songs and stories all day long. She got a doll house for her birthday and just about every mini LaLa Loopsy doll ever created, so she has already spent hours playing with those. She loves to sing and dance, but doesn’t so much like for us to think it’s cute when she does that. She reminds us to say the blessing before most of our meals — just in case we forget. She mostly says the “Now I lay me down to sleep” prayer at night, but sometimes she says her own prayer and she is always sweet and thankful when she prays. Mariana has a spark of mischief and a whole lot of curiosity. Ever since she’s been able to walk, we’ve said she’s an adventure waiting for a place to happen. She’s sweet, spunky, smart, sassy and such a delight. We are so thankful that five years ago, God entrusted a second beautiful baby girl to our care.

This is Mariana when she was one day wearing her going home outfit, but all swaddled up because it was chilly that day:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And, here she is before her “almost” sleepover birthday party on Friday evening:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It’s pretty hard to believe that that baby girl is already five, but…she sure is. She’s five and loving it!!

Thank you, God, for Mariana. Here’s to MANY more happy birthdays!

Blessings,

Kelly

Happy Mother’s Day

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Today has been a great Mother’s Day for me. I “slept in” and got up at around 7:45am. Mickey and the girls gave me a great new flat-iron which I have really been wanting and was HAPPY to receive! I was taken out to breakfast at one of our favorite places. We went to church and, as usual, the message from our amazing pastor was just wonderful. I chose to spend time cleaning out our nasty vehicles this afternoon after lunch, so I am happy to report that my Explorer is quite the clean machine right now. Mickey took our girls to the pool this afternoon while I lazed around and watched last week’s Grey’s via DVR. Then we had a delicious dinner followed later by homemade brownies for dessert. Now, obviously, this is the abridged version of the day, but it highlights the best points and that’s the main thing. It was a really good day. At the end of a day like today, I am tired and happy all at the same time. These are the good times.

I feel so blessed to be a mom. It’s a dream come true. I know I’m not always the best mom in the world, but I always love my girls more than life itself and I am always and forever grateful that God chose me to be their mom. I’m also thankful for my awesome husband because without him, I wouldn’t be a mom at all, let alone a stay-at-home mom. I am grateful for the blessings and opportunities of motherhood. My prayer is that our girls will grow up knowing they are loved most of all by the God that created them and entrusted them to our care. I also pray that they will be secure in their faith and in themselves as a result. As one of our pastors at church likes to say, I hope that learning about faith now places an “anchor in their hearts” to keep their paths steady on Christ their whole lives long. When I am sometimes asked what I do, I don’t ever say I am “just” a mom because it’s more than a “just” statement. I’m a mom and it’s a dream come true. I could not be more thankful.

I know that today is a hard day for some people and my heart goes out to those of you that are hurting today. There are those that have lost their moms, those who have strained relationships with their moms or those who really never knew a mom. There are also those who want more than anything just to be a mom and haven’t gotten that chance as of yet. For those, I hope that today wasn’t a hard day and that some joy found its way to you on this day.

Blessings,
Kelly